Meta Description: Meishan, formerly known as Meizhou, is the hometown of Su Dongpo in Sichuan, China. It features profound ancient culture, rich intangible heritage, and abundant ecological tourism resources, becoming a top eco-cultural travel destination in western China.
Keywords: Meishan travel, Su Dongpo hometown, Sichuan cultural city, eco-tourism destination China, Meishan cultural heritage
Meishan, historically called Meizhou, is a charming prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province and world-famous as the hometown of Su Dongpo, the greatest litterateur of the Northern Song Dynasty. Covering an area of 7,140 square kilometers and home to 3.405 million residents, the city administers two districts — Dongpo and Pengshan — and four counties including Renshou, Hongya, Danling and Qingshen. Enjoying superior geographic advantages, Meishan is the closest prefecture-level city to Chengdu and sits near Shuangliu and Tianfu International Airports, offering extremely convenient transportation for travelers worldwide.
As a nationally honored Civilized City, National Sanitary City, and National Forest City, Meishan has won numerous prestigious titles. It is recognized as “China’s Best Eco-Cultural Tourism City” and rated as the Preferred Tourism Destination for second and third-tier cities in the Asia-Pacific region by the Asia-Pacific Tourism Association, showcasing its outstanding ecological environment and cultural tourism charm.
Profound History and Splendid Cultural Heritage
With a history of more than 2,300 years, Meishan boasts an unparalleled cultural heritage. It proudly nurtured three of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song dynasties: Su Xun, Su Shi (Dongpo), and Su Zhe, father and sons. During the Song Dynasty, Meishan flourished as a renowned “Hometown of Jinshi (Scholars)”, earning the timeless reputation of “City of Poetry and Books for a Thousand Years” and “Top Prefecture of Humanities”.
Throughout history, Meishan has cultivated numerous outstanding figures. Pengzu, the ancient ancestor of traditional Chinese health preservation, Li Mi, a distinguished litterateur of the Western Jin Dynasty, and Yu Yunwen, a celebrated Southern Song Dynasty national hero highly praised by Mao Zedong, are all outstanding representatives of Meishan’s outstanding talents. In ancient times, Meishan was also one of China’s three major woodblock printing centers, witnessing the prosperity of ancient Chinese publishing culture.
The city preserves abundant cultural relics, including 13 national key cultural relic protection units and 44 provincial-level protected sites. Diverse cultural systems thrive here, including Dongpo culture, longevity culture, bamboo weaving culture, and Daya culture. These profound cultures breed rich intangible cultural heritage resources. Up to now, Meishan has 254 representative intangible cultural heritage projects, covering 1 national-level and 32 provincial-level heritage items. Qingshen bamboo weaving, Renshou construction worker chants, Danling suona, Hongya folk drum performances, and Dongpo pickles are iconic local intangible cultural treasures with distinctive regional characteristics.
Unique Tourism and Ecological Resources
Meishan is blessed with extraordinary tourism and ecological resources. The city owns more than 100 urban parks and holds ten honorary titles of “China’s Hometown” for characteristic local products such as bamboo weaving, pickles, and Chinese prickly ash. Located within the Tianfu New Area, Chengdu cultural tourism economic belt, Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, and Bashu cultural tourism corridor, Meishan stands out as an optimal ecological health and wellness tourism destination.
Boasting a cluster of influential cultural and ecological tourism business cards, Meishan features world-famous scenic spots. The Three Su Shrine carries the time-honored “Three Su Culture” brand. Jiangkou Sunken Silver Museum presents stunning ancient relics discovered after centuries. The magnificent Wawu Mountain and elegant Yanu Lake are praised as “the world’s most beautiful table mountain and western China’s healing paradise”. Heilongtan Scenic Area is known as “the No.1 Sea in Western Sichuan and Chengdu’s Backyard Garden”.
In addition, Meishan gathers over 120 attractive scenic spots, including Qiliping Natural Oxygen Bar, International Bamboo Art City, Pengzu Mountain for health preservation, Lao’e Mountain known for Buddhist culture, Zhongyan Temple — the legendary first love place of Su Dongpo, and the stunning Cross-the-Ancient-Street Water Street. These diversified scenic spots integrate culture, ecology, wellness and leisure, attracting countless tourists from home and abroad every year.
Future Development of Meishan Cultural Tourism
Seizing the strategic opportunities of regional development, Meishan focuses on building “two cities and two destinations”: a national famous historical and cultural city, a fashionable sports city, an international ecological health tourism destination, and a suburban leisure and vacation base for the Chengdu metropolitan area. The city is committed to inheriting and promoting the profound Three Su culture, building a pioneer city for in-depth integration of culture and tourism, and striving to grow into a sub-center of cultural and tourism consumption in the Chengdu-Chongqing region. With continuous efforts, Meishan is polishing its core tourism brand — “Hometown of Dongpo, Tianfu Meishan” — to welcome global travelers with unique cultural charm and beautiful ecological scenery.
